From the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in May, and the unemployment
rate was essentially unchanged at 7.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Employment rose in professional and business services, food services
and drinking places, and retail trade.Household Survey Data
Both the number of unemployed persons, at 11.8 million, and the unemployment rate, at
7.6 percent, were essentially unchanged in May.Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.2 percent),
adult women (6.5 percent), teenagers (24.5 percent), whites (6.7 percent), blacks
(13.5 percent), and Hispanics (9.1 percent) showed little or no change in May. The
jobless rate for Asians was 4.3 percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from
a year earlier.In May, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was
unchanged at 4.4 million. These individuals accounted for 37.3 percent of the unemployed.
Over the past 12 months, the number of long-term unemployed has declined by 1.0 million.The civilian labor force rose by 420,000 to 155.7 million in May; however, the labor
force participation rate was little changed at 63.4 percent. Over the year, the labor
force participation rate has declined by 0.4 percentage point. The employment-population
ratio was unchanged in May at 58.6 percent and has shown little movement, on net, over
the past year.Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in May, with gains in professional
and business services, food services and drinking places, and retail trade. Over the
prior 12 months, employment growth averaged 172,000 per month.
The total jobs added is a little better than I expected. This is consistent with a steady but somewhat disappointing recovery. The private sector added 178,000 jobs, according to the estimates today, while the public sector lost 3,000.
All of this data is seasonally adjusted.
A couple of graphs from the BLS:
